Financial Counselors Inc. Purchases 16,104 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 368,966 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,104 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $55,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 59,392 shares of the company's stock worth $9,031,000 after purchasing an additional 6,574 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 470,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,527,000 after purchasing an additional 11,538 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,449 shares of the company's stock valued at $677,000 after acquiring an additional 824 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 14,732 shares of the company's stock worth $2,240,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI boosted its holdings in PepsiCo by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 12,157 shares of the company's stock worth $1,849,000 after buying an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PepsiCo Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEP traded up $1.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $136.08. The stock had a trading volume of 8,863,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,087,542. The firm's fifty day moving average is $131.41 and its 200 day moving average is $141.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.83. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $180.91. The stock has a market cap of $186.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.45.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.01). PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.28% and a net margin of 10.24%. The company had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepsiCo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $1.4225 per share. This represents a $5.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This is an increase from PepsiCo's previous quarterly dividend of $1.36. PepsiCo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PEP shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $168.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $143.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered shares of PepsiCo from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PepsiCo has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.50.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of various beverages and convenient foods worldwide. The company operates through seven segments: Frito-Lay North America; Quaker Foods North America; PepsiCo Beverages North America; Latin America; Europe; Africa, Middle East and South Asia; and Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region.